influencer marketing for the travel industry in 2017

WEBINAR:Influencer Marketing for the Travel Industry in 2017

March 2, 2017

Presented By: Jeff RiddallDirector of Product Strategy, gShift@JRiddall

#TravelInfluencers @Jriddall @gShiftLabs

#TravelInfluencers @Jriddall @gShiftLabs

AGENDA

Influencer Marketing Overview

Adding Influencers to Your Marketing MixThe New Customer Journey and the Dark Funnel

Running an Influencer Marketing Campaign

Monitoring and Reporting on Influencers

Key Takeaways

Q & A

INFLUENCER MARKETING

Influencer marketing is a tactic of digital marketing where brands partner with key industry thought leaders to amplify (distribute) the brand content/message to their audience, mainly using social channels.

Influencers are credible, authentic and highly engaged presences who hold a power of influence over their audience based on the trust they’ve built.

What is influencer marketing?

Who are influencers?

#Travelnfluencers @Jriddall @gShiftLabs

WHERE DID INFLUENCER MARKETING COME FROM?

74% of consumers rely on social media to inform their purchasing decisions

trust peer recommendation (only 33% trust sponsored ads)

take action from peer opinions

84%

84%

Data: ODM Group

Data: Nielsen

Data: Opt-out Effect


MORE INFLUENCER STATS


• Twitter users now trust influencers as much as they trust their friends.

• It’s more effective than PPC advertising since 47% of online customers use ad block technology.

• 73% of Millennials see it as their responsibility to guide friends, peers and family toward smart purchase decisions.

• Influencer marketing content delivers up to 11X higher ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing.

Brooke B. SellasB Squared Media via BusinessGrow.com blog February 2017

WHERE DO TRAVELERS GO FOR ADVICE

Source: Adweek - Social Times, August 2015http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-and-travel-go-hand-in-hand-infographic/625230


AND HOW ABOUT VIDEO?


• YouTube reaches more 18-49 year olds than any U.S. cable network and is the 2nd largest search engine.source Mediakix.com Aug 2015

• Video watch time on Instagram is up 40% over the last 6 months.source TechCrunch Feb 2016

INFLUENCERS IN YOUR MARKETING MIX

Channel of distributionPower of word of mouth

Cost-effective

The off-site content challenge


Source of content

THE TRADITIONAL CUSTOMER JOURNEY

#LeadwithIntent @Jriddall @gShiftLabs

This is where influencers live.Up to 90% of the purchasing journey is off-

site

THE DARK FUNNEL


IT’S THE CUSTOMER’S SALES JOURNEY, NOT YOURS

#LeadwithIntent @Jriddall @gShiftLabs

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is–it is what consumers tell each other it is.”

Scott Cook, Founder and CEO of Intuit

RUNNING AN INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Monitor & manage

Set parameters

Identify audienceResearch and create a content strategyIdentify, engage and arm influencers

Measure & report

Maintain relationships


SET CAMPAIGN PARAMETERS

Identify key objectives and goalsReach, UGC, brand affinity, engagement

Set realistic numbersMeasurable and attainable goals

Allocate your budgetDictates content strategy and influencer identification


IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE

Understand who your audience is. This goes beyond knowing their demographics. What are their interests? Where are they in the purchasing

cycle? Where do they live online?


● Identify keywords with relatively high monthly organic search volumes/social mentions

● Focus on your existing content which maintains visibility / authority

● Search for influencers who use these keywords socially and/or in their site content

● Have these influencers promote/link to your authoritative content

RESEARCH KEYWORDS AND CONTENT


● Listen and engage with paid influencers and other customers/guests

● Instagram taking the lead for images and video content – encourage influencers to post, hashtag and include CTAs for their audience to engage (e.g. “Tag a Friend!” or “Visit ‘Your Website’”)

● Encourage content variety – blogs, links, photos, video, live streaming

● Authenticity is key as even influencers are being judged with a critical eye

TRAVEL INFLUENCER CONTENT TIPS


Audience-centric vs. influencer-centric

Audience size vs engagement - getting the best bang for your buck

Influencer scoring - authenticity, engagement, credibility

IDENTIFY INFLUENCERS


INFLUENCER ENGAGEMENT


• Personalized email with campaign overview

• Negotiate compensation

• Influencer Brief• Key messaging• Content/links• Keywords/hashtags• Timing• Reporting

• Build a relationship

CLOSING THE LOOP

You’ve created great content, developed strong social, messaging through your influencer marketing

campaign…

Now what?


TRACKING OFFSITE ENGAGEMENT

Likes and Shares are nice….

BUT

Visits and Conversions are better.


>

TRACKING OFF-SITE ENGAGEMENT

Smart URLs

Near Real-Time Segmented Engagement Metrics

Off-site Analytics

Conversion Paths

Branded, Vanity Short URL


● Track and report on content engagement by Influencer, by Channel, by Content Type, by Keyword Group, by Buying Stage

● Create Conversion Paths to map off-site content engagement all the way through to ROI

MEASUREMENT & REPORTING


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Focus on influencer quality and audience interests

Consumers increasingly look to influencers for advice and recommendations

Plan, monitor and optimize influencer campaigns for maximum conversion and ROI


Engage and build relationships with influencers

Encourage content variety and strong Calls to Action

Q & A

Audience Development & Discoverability

gshift.it/elu-audienceguide

Influencer Marketing Toolkit

gshift.it/elu-influencer-toolkit

Find this presentation on SlideShare at gshift.it/TravelInfluencers


http://gshift.it/elu-audienceguide

http://gshift.it/TravelInfluencers